


smell the roses

by Anonymous



Category: Sword Art Online (Anime & Manga)
Genre: I mean it is but if you're an avid fan you'll probably not be impressed, Kinda, M/M, Omega Verse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-13
Updated: 2019-05-13
Packaged: 2020-03-02 15:19:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,812
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18813583
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Eugeo smelled like somebody really loved roses.





	smell the roses

**Author's Note:**

> There's only so many times you can use the word smell before it starts not looking like a word anymore.

Eugeo was nice.

Eugeo also smelled like somebody had poured three vials of cheap rose perfume on themselves and called it a day. Because of that Kirito had made sure to sit in a way that the wind was hitting his back, blowing the stench away from him. It still made him positively dizzy and lunch had been uncomfortable with Kirito trying his best to _not_ breathe through his nose even while eating bread, Eugeo moving closer because apparently Kirito had looked unwell. Smiling feebly hadn’t really done much to reassure Eugeo but Kirito did not know how to tell him that he smelled awful without possibly hurting his feelings.

When Kirito had finally forced the rest of his share of bread in his mouth, Eugeo stood up, stretching his limbs. “Time to continue I guess.”

Kirito let out a breath of relief, standing up from his sitting position, just to almost fall over, the world tilting in front of him for a second. He was able to catch himself considerably fast on the tree, steadying himself before Eugeo had even turned around and tried to pretend it had never happened. A raised eyebrow told him that he had probably not quite succeeded but Kirito was too preoccupied with putting distance between them to bother trying to make up some excuse.

“I should do the other half, since I got half the food.”

“But”, Eugeo looked back from the tree and axe to Kirito, seemingly unwilling to relinquish his job. “It’s my job and I don’t need any repayment for the bread. Not to mention that you’ve not been looking so good…”

“It’s fine! Just – sit over there.“ He pointed at a place definitely unnecessarily far away from the tree and most importantly in the other direction than Kirito had been sitting before. “You’ve already shown me how to do it and some movement would be good for me.”

Eugeo did not seem convinced but went over to the spot Kirito had pointed to. “Don’t hurt yourself.”

“I won’t!” At least he wouldn’t unless Eugeo didn’t stay where he was.

The rest of the time passed surprisingly quickly. Eugeo was sitting on the side-lines sometimes giving advice and the movement actually really helped against the headache that had been building behind his temples. The science behind that should be interesting.

Still, the work was exhausting and Kirito was genuinely relieved when Eugeo’s quota for the day was finally finished.

He slumped down, Eugeo congratulating him while coming up to him to pick up the axe, his overly sweet perfume washing over Kirito, before he suddenly stopped, letting out a surprised noise. “You are an alpha.”

“… what?”

“That’s why you’ve been holding your breath—“ Eugeo realized what he had said and blinked, aghast. “You haven’t forgotten what an alpha is, right?”

“Of course not.” The first letter of the Greek alphabet, a symbol used in the sciences, an experiment at CERN and a classification sometimes used when studying social animals. Obviously none of that made any sense in the situation.

“I’m sorry, I’ve been told that my smell is quite strong, despite the suppressants I take.”

“Ah, um… I’m mean, it is.” Suppressants? For what? Was that the reason he was using ungodly amounts of perfume? Because he thought he reeked? Kirito hadn’t detected anything else but his perfume, the stink strong enough to kill his olfactory system.

“I see…” Eugeo seemed oddly embarrassed and Kirito was beginning to feel genuinely awkward sitting there, waiting for any of this to make sense. “I haven’t ever met an alpha before that uses suppressants, so I didn’t recognize it at first.”

Kirito didn’t even know where to begin answering that statement, so he stayed quiet, the silence stretching on. He was definitely not using suppressants.

“You are not using suppressants.” He wasn’t sure what to make of the tone of Eugeo’s voice but if he had seemed embarrassed before, he was more like ashamed now. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to insult you. Just… forget that, I’m taking it all back.”

Kirito nodded, not knowing what else to do and stood up, quickly patting Eugeo’s shoulder once. “No problem. I don’t mind.”

Smiling at him appeared to do something for Eugeo’s nerves and they walked together to the cabin where the dragon bone axe was stored in relative silence, Eugeo sometimes answering his questions. Thankfully it appeared that his body was getting used to being attacked by the odour of cheap rose perfume, even if being around Eugeo was completely drowning out any other smell.

On the way inside the village they were accosted by a man around Eugeo’s age, smelling a lot like wet crayons and the fact that standing next to him had the same effect as actively sniffing it was so distracting, he barely followed the conversation, wondering why Eugeo did not seem disturbed at all. Did everyone in this village have some sort of obsession with kind of gross smelling perfume? Not that he really smelled like perfume, but how else could one end up smelling this strongly of crayons of all things?

“Of course a loser like you would have a scrawny beta friend that could easily pass for an omega.”

He’d thought so before but the way he spit out ‘omega’ and the addition of ‘beta’ really made it sound like a social hierarchy thing. Nothing else made sense though, Kirito did not see how he could have possibly advanced in the hierarchy when this was his first time he had contact with anyone. Or maybe it was the other way around? But if alpha was the lowest rank their actions and this man’s behaviour would make even less sense.

“He’s not— he’s not a beta, Jink.”

“Ehhh? He doesn’t smell anything like an omega—“, Jink leaned forwards, invading his personal space, and if Kirito hadn’t learnt that showing weakness to bullies was like holding bloody meat in front of a wolf, he’d have taken a step back, just to put some distance between them. Jink started laughing after sniffing him, throwing his head back. “It’s even better! You found yourself the weakest-ass alpha I’ve ever seen in my life! That’s quite some desperation!”

The angle around Eugeo’s mouth tightened and even though Kirito was still confused and completely alienated by their conversation, even he could tell that Jink had just said something very rude.

“I told you, he’s vector’s lost child.”

“Not even knowing what his sacred task his? I’d be usually a shame for a village to lose an alpha but in his case they’re probably not even searching, huh? Even though he’s an alpha, I genuinely thought he was some pathetic beta high on suppressants. He was most likely given some boring, useless job like you Eugeo, at least if they have any brain cells.”

It quickly went down the drain from there.

Thankfully sword skills existed in this world and he was able to prove his statement, even while being preoccupied by the cacophony of different odours. After that it was only a matter of informing the village leader and they were on their way to the church to hopefully convince the sister in charge to let him stay there for some time.

“You’re really strong, Kirito.” Despite the fact that Eugeo’s tone was admiring, there was something almost frustrated about him in the jut of his chin and his too fast steps. “But there was no need for you to step in for me, I’d have been fine.”

Kirito sent Eugeo a side glance. “I didn’t do it for you. I was just pissed.”

Eugeo chuckled. “Typical alpha behaviour, huh?”

That did not in any way sit right with him. Whatever weird hierarchy they had in this world, he didn’t want to be part of it. He didn’t want to be associated with it either. “I did it because I was angry. I’d have been angry as an omega too.”

“… If you were an omega, you’d have never become a swordsman.”

“He said I was the weakest alpha he’d ever met and I still became a swordsman. Something like that is not dependant on something as ludicrous as being an alpha.”

“You’re the only one who thinks that.”

“Then you don’t think omega can become swordsman?”

“Even if they could, nobody would let them, unless they were the heir of a noble family.”

Kirito liked this place less the more he heard about it. “Then they’d be fools.”

Eugeo laughed.

* * *

 

It took Kirito and Eugeo fighting together against the goblins in the mountains for Eugeo to get over the initial awkwardness of Kirito being an alpha. It also made him get closer to Selka, who he figured out from her complaints of wishing to be an alpha as well was a beta. She smelled like tree oil but unlike Eugeo’s overwhelming fragrance, her smell was pleasant, almost relaxing. Ranks were confusing and completely unnecessary in his opinion and honestly, he did not know what Rath was thinking introducing something so completely bizarre to people he was sure had artificial intelligence. The things he _could_ think of made him furious however.

Scents were without a doubt intimately connected to the ranking system but over eighty percent of the time Kirito couldn’t tell at all what rank somebody belonged to. It was a problem solely on his side because while most people mistook him for a beta at first glance – something he actually preferred –, there was still something in his smell that set people off. Eugeo had admitted when asked that the reason he had mistaken him for a beta was the fact that his scent was unusually unaggressive. And also very, very faint.

Of course the combination of aggressive and smell did absolutely nothing to help him whiff out alpha. What on earth was an aggressive smell supposed to be in the first place?

Eugeo laughed at Kirito when Kirito told him that he was giving up on trying to figure out people’s rank by their scent, as it was unnecessary either way because he didn’t believe in that nonsense. Kirito didn’t tell him off, a little bit embarrassed despite himself.

He did however get back at him by throwing some water in his face to ‘cool him down’ after training and Eugeo did the most infuriating think he could have done and grabbed the whole thing to chuck it over his head. Of course, it was summer, that was why Kirito had done it in the first place, because it wouldn’t harm him in any way, but he was sure Eugeo did that on purpose to get back at him.

It did end up backfiring because Eugeo was too nice and ended up giving him some of his water instead since all of Kirito’s was running down over his hair and face but it felt like a loss nonetheless.

Saying farewell to Rulid Village after Eugeo had cut the Gigas Cedar was a surprisingly emotional event to Kirito. It was startling to see how fast he had gotten attached to the villagers when he already had a hard time connecting with his classmates. But in the end he went out to venture to the city with little regrets. Even though the voyage was tiring, being around Eugeo was fun.

They also found better suppressants in Zakkaria and Kirito hated the fact that he _knew_ the reason Eugeo bought them was because he could never flee the insults and harassment otherwise. Afterwards Eugeo stopped reeking like cheap perfume and even though the new smell was a big improvement, some part of Kirito missed the old scent. He had gotten used to it and it was not that bad unless Eugeo had been working out for a long time. If Eugeo noticed anything he didn’t mention it and Kirito was glad about that.

Shortly afterwards Kirito started taking weaker pills that were more than enough to turn his essence unrecognizable and he told himself that it was just out of convenience but honestly Kirito was just tired of standing out. Two beta definitely caught less attention than an alpha with a weak scent that other alpha apparently could not resist to try crushing. In a question of nature versus nurture, Kirito was very sure that it was not nature that was at fault for creating so many unbearable alpha, considering that he had been living as an ‘alpha’ for quite some time.

Afterwards Eugeo became more confident than before when it came to socializing with others, even alpha, and Kirito started so silently chip in because Eugeo needed _a ton_ of these suppressants. He tried to be sneaky about it but apparently Eugeo both religiously checked his wallet and had a third sense to know when shopkeepers had been bribed to sell their items cheaper because both attempts resulted in Eugeo trying to give the money back.

So honest.

Too honest.

Kirito also started checking his wallet regularly afterwards because the money had a habit of multiplying when he was not looking. Then Kirito discovered a bakery in the city with amazing pastries and Eugeo started silently despairing… at least until he too ultimately fell for the pastries.

* * *

 

They fell into a routine. Keeping their rank hidden was easier than it seemed; most people did not even think to suspect a swordsman of being an omega and there was no one who would look at Kirito and think ‘strong, alphan warrior’. Kirito thought that these biases were ridiculous. He also thought that Eugeo took way too much delight in the fact that he might be a few millimetres taller than Kirito.

Kirito entered their room through the window, startling Eugeo who was weirdly enough in the process of… shoving one seat in front of the door?

“Kirito—“, Eugeo looked like a startled rabbit, taking a step backwards. “You need to leave.”

“What, why?” He surveyed the room, trying to find where the flowery aroma came from. Despite the fact that it was not what he’d usually have chosen Kirito had to admit that it made their room seem more homely.

“I can’t believe you didn’t lock the window, just because you don’t want to use the door”, Eugeo rubbed his forehead and Kirito found himself distracted by his fluffy hair. He’d always thought it looked soft but he never had the opportunity to really touch it before, had he? “But none of that matters now, I need you to leave. My recent sickness must have thrown off my suppressant and I’m— Kirito, are you listening?”

“That’s you?” Kirito quickly turned around, closing the window and locking it for good measure, after pretending for so long, it’d be horrible if anyone detected Eugeo and figured out he was an omega.

“Why would you— you need to get out as well!”

“I already know you are an omega, why would I need to get out?”

“Kirito”, he began carefully. “You do know that the sudden stop of suppressants usually always triggers a heat or rut? My smell will just become stronger to attract alpha.”

Wait, what, a _heat?_ Kirito felt a blush spread out on his cheeks. He had the misfortune of being around when an omega went into heat before but while it had been slightly uncomfortable – for various reasons but mostly because the person in question had been unbearably horny –, there had been no incidents bringing that person to their home, even if Eugeo hadn’t stopped side-eying him the whole way, gauging his reaction. Back then he honestly had barely noticed that the person was in heat and without Eugeo he might have actually just moved by without assisting them. But that had been a stranger. This was Eugeo.

Eugeo definitely had a stronger scent and while it was true that Kirito felt a little bit dazed, he mostly felt like lying down and taking a nap together with Eugeo but he usually refused, so Kirito had mostly given up on that. It’d been quite some while since he had last smelled Eugeo’s scent but even though it felt nostalgic, it lacked the plastic, fake quality that made him think of cheap perfume. “So that’s why you actually smell good this time? All of this rank stuff is ridiculous.”

“Wait, you thought I smelled bad?”, Eugeo said, sounding disconcerted.

Kirito froze, trying to come up with some excuse, the haze surrounding his brain not helping in the least. He might not smell bad this time but the fragrance was still dizzyingly strong and the fact that it made him actually want to get closer this time instead of running off was doubtlessly not a good sign. “Well…”, he bit his lip. Lying would probably just make the situation worse and it wasn’t like Eugeo wouldn’t see right through him. “Kind of. Your scent always had a fake, plastic quality to it and that’s gone now.”

“Plastic…? Whatever you smelled must have been the suppressant I was using back then. Your smell does not change when going into heat.” Eugeo nervously adjusted his position, tugging on his clothing. “What— what do I smell like right now?”

“Roses. If I closed my eyes, I could easily believe I’m in a rose garden.”

“… roses”, Eugeo muttered, his hair falling forward to shadow his face. “I guess I do not need to ask where you got that idea from.”

“What do you mean?”

Eugeo motioned to the other seat still standing in its original place. “Like I thought before your memories of the ranks are spotty, aren’t they? I’ll tell you.”

“I thought you were afraid?”

“Kirito, tell me honestly – there is no way the smell is not affecting you – what do you want to do?”

That… he’d really rather not. The thought that he wanted to drape himself over Eugeo like some sort of leech and just take a nap was already harrowing enough in his mind, saying it out loud anywhere, especially in front of Eugeo… his visceral reaction was to say no. But Eugeo was serious and he wanted to answer the trust he had shown him.

Kirito looked to the side, trying to keep his voice even. “Cuddle. On bed. Maybe sleeping.”

Eugeo chuckled, his tone off, and his smile not completely honest but he didn’t seem mad or afraid, so Kirito approached him, leaving some space between them when he sat down.

Tapping a finger against his leg, Eugeo took some seconds to gather his thoughts.

“Right, so— like you noticed not everyone reacts the same to an omega in heat; the personality of the person in question plays a big role as well as the rank. I asked you what I smell like to you because everyone interprets what they smell differently, depending on what they think about the person.”

Even smell was subjective?

“Because of my sword you associated me with roses, so I started smelling like roses.”

“No, that’s not true. You already smelled like roses when I first met you. Well, more like cheap rose perfume and like you had dunked multiple vials straight over your head but like roses.”

Eugeo looked surprised, pressing one hand against his lips.

“I guess that’s odd.”

“No, I mean”, Eugeo’s eyes quickly darted over to him. “I suppose that means that your impression of me never changed fundamentally.”

_But roses?_

“What do I smell like?”

“Ah, um”, Eugeo appeared nervous, rubbing his hands against his trousers. “I can’t really describe it, it’s not a scent I recognize. But it’s… soothing and gentle.”

That told him literally nothing. If Eugeo’s goal was to make Kirito embarrassed however, he had succeeded. “I thought alpha scents were supposed to be aggressive?”

“I’m sorry, it doesn’t make much sense, does it?”

“You know, I don’t really mind but are you sure you want to keep me around?”

“It’s fine”, Eugeo answered quietly. “I told you people react differently, right? Since your impression of other people’s scents is highly influenced by your opinion of them, telling other people what they smell like to you is in truth really telling and roses are not something you eat.”

“Something you eat—!” Kirito’s voice rose at the end of the sentence, embarrassment washing over him. “Wait, does that mean people you find attractive smell like food?”

Eugeo flinched. “… Mostly.”

“So wanting to hug—“

“Is a reaction not unusual for parents and their children, or even very close friends and settled couples.”

“But isn’t that uncomfortable? Won’t you become…”, Kirito trailed of inelegantly.

“No, your hormones will affect mine and since we are friends, I’ll in all likelihood start wanting to cuddle soon too.”

“Eh, that’s how it works?”

Eugeo sighed. “That’s right. That’s why a lot of non-couples still spend their heats together. It’s certainly more pleasant to cuddle for three days than to be… you know. What were you thinking they were doing either way?”

Kirito choose not to answer this one.

Not even kissing not being allowed before marriage had certainly stumped him but it was not like the topic had had anything to do with him, so even when he knew that all these people were not just… letting out some steam together, he hadn’t spent too much time thinking about it. The topic of the ranking system and the strange customs and rules that accompanied it always discomfited him.

Of course, he regretted that now. This was possibly the most embarrassing conversation he ever held and would ever hold, he hadn’t wanted to associate Eugeo with sex in the first place, so essentially asking if he was going to feel horny if Kirito cuddled him – what where these hormones making him do??? – was traumatizing.

“All right”, Kirito took a deep breath. “Let’s cuddle. It’s going to make it easier on you, isn’t it? And I don’t want to spend the whole night or however long the suppressants are going to take to kick in outside either.”

“We don’t _need_ to, don’t force yourself.”

Eugeo wasn’t looking at him at all anymore.

“I’m not forcing myself, I actually quite like hugging you… it’s just a little bit awkward… and I just made it worse…”

Even from this angle, he could tell Eugeo was blushing. “It’s fine, I also quite like hugging you.”

“Ah— I see.” He gracelessly opened his arms, giving Eugeo ample time to reject him, before he hugged him loosely. Eugeo was warm in his embrace and even though the position was not ideal, it felt unexpectedly comfortable. “Is this fine?”

Eugeo hummed affirmatively, leaning further into him. His hair brushed over Kirito’s cheek and he could feel him breathing, his ribcage moving rhythmically up and down. It was calming and Kirito felt something in him unwind. Eugeo let out a shuddery breath, the hot air brushing over Kirito’s neck and ear before he tightened his grip, putting his body weight onto Kirito.

“We should probably go to bed”, Eugeo murmured. _Bed._ That was— well, it would take the weight off Kirito, rationally speaking, if they were to fall asleep, it was the smart decision.

“R-Right…”, Kirito coughed, standing up while pulling Eugeo up with him. This was not weird. Or awkward. Apparently parents did this for their children all the time. Kirito was glad Yui was not there, or perhaps not, but there was no way he could ever say a word about any of this. The suppressants should kick in soon, so it was just a few hours he had to spend cuddling Eugeo, that didn’t actually sound so bad.

A friend helping out another friend and Kirito blended out the image of having to do the same for Klein. He’d thank the heavens if he believed in them that it was Eugeo. It might be unusual but Kirito had always been quite tactile when it came down to it, so he should just enjoy it. Out of the two of them it was actually Eugeo that tended to pull away, often blushing, obviously uncomfortable, so this was… this was only happening because Eugeo was essentially high.

Kirito stopped in front of the bed, suddenly feeling very sick again, nausea overcoming him. Outside, he needed to go outside. Eugeo could – it’d be awkward but he could just wait out those hours by himself. And Kirito would… actually it didn’t really matter. Everywhere seemed better than here at this moment.

“Euge—“, Kirito let out an undignified voice when Eugeo pushed him into the bed, crawling in afterwards. “What are you doing?”, he hissed.

Eugeo stopped whatever he had been doing with the pillows, some hesitation entering his voice. “What are _you_ doing?”, Eugeo asked, hovering on his knees next to him. The scent of the roses had sweetened some, smelling ripe and fresh and Kirito felt something in him panic.

“We should— I need to go.”

“What, why?” Eugeo pulled back and Kirito could not bear facing him, choosing to stare at the blanket they were lying on instead.

“Just—“ Eugeo’s body was tense, his fingers gripping tightly onto the blanket, and Kirito should have just left when Eugeo had asked him to the first time. “I’m sorry.”

It was a coward’s move but Kirito didn’t stay there long enough for Eugeo to demand an explanation, his body screaming at him to flee and he was sure there was nothing gentle about his smell right now. He opened the window just enough to jump out of it, Eugeo not trying to stop him, and even though the air was clear outside, he felt somehow even more chocked up if possible.

The window closed above him with a soft click and Kirito remembered that he presumably still smelt like roses after being in that room for so long, swivelling around to make sure nobody was around before he went off. He needed to get rid of the traces. Here and now he didn’t have the time to think about anything else, like the panic running through him or his hands that had started shivering at some point. Or the guilt that made him taste acid in his mouth.

Later. All of that— he was going to deal with it later.

Right now, he was going to concentrate on not getting caught.

* * *

 

Eugeo greeted him normally next morning, pointedly not mentioning anything about the incident, and Kirito, who still did not know how to explain himself, just followed his lead. Getting the scent out of their room was difficult, particularly because they could not just simply air, they tried everything from actually buying cheap perfume, to amassing a frankly ridiculous amount of flowers but Kirito could _still_ smell the roses through all of that and they were getting desperate.

At the end an act of desperation that made Kirito throw a god to honest stink bomb into their own room while they were still inside amended the situation, the aroma of roses finally overpowered by something more pungent.

Eugeo coughed somewhere in the background and Kirito could completely empathize, his eyes tearing up, trying to reach the window. Tiese and Ronye would soon come by so this had been their last chance. Kirito himself had created the one he had just set off and he deeply regretted having gone for the more effective version he had looked up online back when he was younger. They had been so desperate that Eugeo had neither asked why Kirito knew how to create such a thing nor had complained about the fact that their room was going to stink horribly for around a day.

Eugeo’s coughing in the background started to sound a lot more like gurgling by the time Kirito had finally managed to open the window and they both stuck their head out, frantically inhaling the fresh, clear air.

They were only given a minute to recuperate before somebody, either Tiese or Ronye opened the door and Ronye gasped, both of them holding their noses closed.

“Ugh!”

“What the— Kirito-senpai?!”

It was kind of unfair that everyone just assumed that if something strange and uncomfortable happened it had to be his fault. Eugeo was caught off guard, trying to come up with some excuse and Kirito interrupted his thoughts before he had the chance to come up with some complicated answer.

“Tried out a thing, it worked better than expected.” He grinned crookedly and he could see both Ronye and Tiese believing him at once, Eugeo not pleased at the fact that Kirito had just taken up the whole blame by himself but not protesting in order not to blow their cover. “So Eugeo and I are probably going to be busy clearing this room of the stench for the foreseeable future, sorry.”

“We can help!”, Ronye exclaimed, Tiese nodding in agreement while staring at Eugeo.

“Oh, no, it’s fine.” They could not have these two around in case the rose essence came back. Even traces of it could be fatal. Nobody else but Kirito would confuse it with actual roses. “It’s my fault after all, so we should clean it up by ourselves.”

“Eugeo-senpai, too?”, Tiese asked.

“W-Well, yes.” Kirito softly elbowed Eugeo in the side, trying to send him ‘save me’ signals and Eugeo seemed to receive them because he went away from the window ledge and smiled softly at them.

“I’m sorry, today is not so good. I promised I’d help Kirito with this, so how about we meet up tomorrow instead?”

Kirito didn’t bother listening to the rest of the conversation. Social interactions generally went well when he left them up to Eugeo and he had no doubt that today would be the same. He wondered what they were going to do with the perfume though. Perhaps they should give it to Tiese or Ronye but both of them, especially Tiese, probably already owned and used costlier perfume. It was not like they could use it and it wasn’t likely that it’d come in handy again but perhaps it wasn’t such a bad idea just in the off-chance of a similar incident happening to keep it. Hiding it would be a pain though— on the other hand it wouldn’t be such a big deal even if it was found, they could always just pretend they had bought it for someone.

About the flowers… Kirito would like to keep them, even if they were messy and wouldn’t live for very long but he didn’t know how Eugeo would feel about temporarily turning their room into a garden. It was better not to say anything.

“Let’s just keep the perfume”, Kirito said when the door finally closed behind Tiese and Ronye. “It might come in handy.”

“It’s not like we can give it to anyone either way, so why not? We need better containers for the flowers though. Tiese and Ronye possibly have something they can lend to us.”

Was it odd to smile over something like this?

“… That’s probably true.”

* * *

 

Eugeo looked embarrassed sitting there, flowers decorating his body. Kirito had seen Tiese make a flower crown for him and remembering playing with his sister when they were little had made him want to make some too and with no other person around to give them to but Eugeo, Eugeo had become his victim. He’d planned to only make one at first but it had been sloppy at best, so he had been perfecting his technique, weaving together more and more flowers.

Kirito could doubtlessly stop by now but despite Ronye giggling in the background, the sight of Eugeo’s face steadily turning more and more pink, the flowers complimenting his hair and skin was too fascinating to turn away from. He grabbed some bigger blue flowers with intricate, graceful petals and put them behind Eugeo’s ear without weaving him. Under the current lighting, his eyes shined more green than blue but the colour still made them pop up. Kirito could admit quietly to himself that Eugeo looked pretty like this.

“Kirito-senpai, don’t you think that’s enough by now?”, Tiese asked, glancing between the flowers Kirito was currently turning into another ring and Eugeo who was more flower than human at this point.

Kirito hummed, finishing his work quickly before he mentioned for Eugeo to stretch his hand out. “Maybe but something is still missing…”

Eugeo let out a long-suffering noise but let Kirito put on the ring either way, then stared at the flower adorning his ring finger for some seconds.

“Teach me how to make a ring”, he asked abruptly to Kirito’s confusion. He hadn’t been very interested until now.

“What, really? But we wanted to go…” Kirito glanced over Tiese who was staring at Eugeo’s hand, her hands intertwined tightly with each other. She gave the impression of being… off. “Are you alright?”

She startled, ripping her gaze away from Eugeo, her lips twitching up into a make-believe smile. “What— I mean, of course. Right. I’m fine. Just”, she trailed off. “Just leave yourself time. I’m not—“

She looked over to Ronye who was inclining her head, her eyes flickering over Eugeo and Kirito before landing back on Tiese. “Right! We were busy! I’m very sorry, Eugeo-senpai, Kirito-senpai, we have to leave now.”

Tiese’s shoulders slumped almost in relief when Ronye dragged her away, Eugeo giving them a half-hearted wave, unable to quite meet their eyes. Kirito had the feeling he had missed two-thirds of the conversation.

“What was that?”, he asked.

“Nothing”, Eugeo answered, twiddling with the flower on his finger, not meeting Kirito’s eyes either right now.

Seeing no sign of Eugeo changing his opinion any time soon, Kirito gave in.

“Fine. Let’s just make flower rings then.”

* * *

 

Eugeo’s head made a soft bumping noise against the wall. “My suppressants will wear off soon.”

That was going to be trouble. They definitely did not have the possibility to wait until Eugeo’s heat had run its course and Kirito had never been in a rut in the first place, which apparently was connected to his weak scent. Eugeo on the other hand went into heat about every twenty days, which was the reason why he had decided on taking suppressants in the first place. Kirito had no idea what his cycle would be but now that the suppressants had successfully screwed over his system, he would have the dubious glory of being in rut first hand.

Not that it should be all too different from Eugeo’s heats – the reason why Kirito had insisted that it was senseless to give the phenomenon two different names – but he had never planned on stopping taking the suppressants, so he wasn’t prepared at all. At least Eugeo was there. Feeling dazed and cuddly was not the best mood to fight in but it was better than horny.

“There’s probably no reason to hide anymore. If they searched our room, they will have found the suppressants already.”

“Great.” Eugeo sighed. “So much for that I guess.”

“At least we’ll be together when they wear off. Wanting to cuddle like last time will be distracting but it’s better than the alternative.”

Eugeo tensed up, his body language becoming more defensive. “Is it now?”

“I’m—“ The chain clinked. “Maybe not.”

“Why did you… why did you run off?”

It was difficult to answer that question while peering into Eugeo’s eyes, so he didn’t. “Isn’t the better question why I didn’t leave right away? I should have and I’m sorry about that.”

“I didn’t want you gone.”

Kirito looked up. “Eugeo, at that time you might not have want me gone but what about usually? If it hadn’t been for the heat, you’d have never wanted to do _that_. Actually, even back then you were just being affected by my hormones.”

“That’s not true.”

This time it was Kirito’s turn to sigh. “It’s true. I’m the one initiating body contact. You blush and cringe away. There is nothing wrong with that but the thought that you wouldn’t do this if it wasn’t for your state was enough to get me out of my haze.”

“That’s not how it works. If I didn’t like it, then even if I was in my heat, I’d be—“

“Liking something and doing something are two completely different things”, Kirito interrupted. “Being in heat lowers your inhibitions, it’s like you are drugged. Cuddling me is not something you’d have done outside of your heat. It’s not something you do outside of your heat. Frankly speaking it made me more conscious about my behaviour, I wasn’t trying to make you uncomfortable but I obviously _was_ , so I toned it down.”

“That’s why you’ve been—!” Eugeo stood up, the chain clanging on the ground. “You’re wrong, Kirito. I didn’t lie when I told you I like hugging you. I just don’t know how to initiate it and I didn’t want to be weird—! When you stopped touching me I thought you’d been creeped out by my behaviour during my heat.”

“But you didn’t do anything—“

“I did!” They were definitely becoming too loud and Kirito’s heart was too fast in his chest. “It’s not like I _need_ you to be around during my heat, I could have easily spent those few hours alone. Even the things I told you… your hormones were, well, they were honestly rather obvious, so I just spewed a bunch of excuses to have a _reason_ to touch you. I didn’t lie but I might as well have.”

“Oh.” What was he even supposed to say to this? “I don’t— I mean, I’m not mad. You didn’t lie and I could have left anytime. I did back then, though I wouldn’t have had you, ah, talked to me. I just don’t understand why you didn’t just ask me…?”

“That’s…”, Eugeo trailed off. “That’s not something I could have asked for.”

“But you _can_. I don’t mind at all. I actually— it’s not like I— I didn’t lie either back then.”

“…” Eugeo hesitated for a second before moving to sit next to him on the same bed. “Then if I had told you earlier that I like touching you, you’d have stayed?”

It was befuddling how such an innocuous conversation could be so stressful. This was not weird. Kirito had always been a tactile person and Eugeo was his best friend. So his heart should just. Calm down already. “I’d— I’d have stayed.”

Swallowing heavily, Eugeo bumped his shoulder against Kirito’s. “Good.”

There was some red on Eugeo’s cheeks and Kirito didn’t know why his eyes couldn’t seem to stop lingering on it, his throat feeling curiously dry. Kirito curled his fists together to stop them from shaking, something like panic running through him. Why? Even though nothing was wrong, Eugeo just made him—

“It’s not weird or creepy”, Kirito burst out, not knowing who he was trying to convince in the first place but unable to keep quiet. “Wanting body contact is normal, humans are social animals after all. It’s natural.”

“Kirito?”

“And we are friends.”

“… right. Friends”, Eugeo echoed.

That was important, very important. There was no reason to feel guilty at all. Even so he was sure that people would react disfavourably as if they were doing something odd and even though these people were wrong, he didn’t want to have to explain himself. Why did he have to defend himself because he wanted to hug Eugeo?

Asuna— Asuna would likely not react well either. If he had stayed there when Eugeo had his heat, no, even though he hadn’t, he couldn’t see her being happy. His stomach felt like it had been knotted together and for once Kirito was glad that she wasn’t there right now to witness the conversation. It made him feel horrible but leaving him aside, he wouldn’t be able to deal with her judging Eugeo. Eugeo was not wrong and not strange either and even if he _had_ lied, Kirito wouldn’t have been able to bring it over himself to be angry at him, after all out of all people he had met, Eugeo was the most honest one and he had just wanted physical comfort, how could he begrudge him that?

Compared to him it was like Kirito couldn’t seem to stop lying.

* * *

 

Their suppressants were not there. It was to be expected he guessed, after all it was a storeroom for armour and weapons, but Kirito had no idea where they should even begin searching for them. Eugeo had not been looking so good for quite some time and Kirito was pretty sure that it had to be linked to his own condition. Honestly speaking, he felt like he would most likely be better off if Eugeo wasn’t around but it wasn’t like they could split up. Since their conversation in their cell, Eugeo had become more tactile and Kirito had first thought that he was simply trying to overcome whatever mental block he had and return his touches but at this point Kirito was certain that it was mostly his heat overcoming his inhibitions.

It was a little bit disconcerting that Eugeo was this distracted by his mere presence when they had to fight and it had caused his heartrate to speed up, unable to relax. It was a fairly bad situation for them he had to admit. The first Integrity Knight they had encountered had not been able to tell that Kirito was an alpha but had recognized that Eugeo was an omega at first glance and Kirito could definitely see why. There was absolutely no point in sneaking around as Eugeo’s scent permeated everywhere he went, warning everyone in advance of his appearance.

Roses, why roses? They fitted Eugeo he had to admit but what about their first meeting had made him think about roses? Anything else would have made more sense, even other flowers. Roses were… before Eugeo he had only seen them as flowers you’d see a man give to a woman in dramas. Different colours meant different things but he couldn’t even place what kind of rose Eugeo smelled like.

Kirito was sure that he’d never be able to view roses again without thinking about Eugeo. He’d gone straight from ‘Eugeo smells like roses’ to ‘the roses smell like Eugeo’

He’d know; it was the first thing he had thought when they had found the rose garden.

Of course they had to run straight into another Integrity Knight without finding the pills.

“What a surprise.”

“What is?”, Eugeo asked getting into form. “Never seen an omega fight before?”

“Of course I have, but I have to admit I’ve never had two people foolish enough to attack their enemy while being indisposed like this.”

Kirito couldn’t argue against that but they hardly had any other choice. “About that; we’d be really grateful if you could tell us where our suppressants are.”

The man snorted. Well, Kirito hadn’t actually thought it would work either way.

They won.

Kirito wondered how much of that was really their own skills and how much the doubts eating away at the man had helped them out. Eugeo was becoming increasingly aggressive and he knew that part of it was just Eugeo being… well, Eugeo, but even Eugeo wasn’t petty enough to begrudge people staring into Kirito’s direction and his glare definitely became a few grades colder whenever the Integrity Knight’s gaze strayed for too long towards Kirito’s general vicinity.

Kirito decided for his own sanity and general well-being to stay inside Eugeo’s sight. He very much did not want to know what Eugeo would do if he wasn’t around.

“I can’t say that continuing on is a smart move under these circumstances”, Deusolbert said, sending Kirito a significant look, his wounds preventing him from standing up.

“I’m _good_ at holding back”, Eugeo answered sharply.

Kirito’s eyes flashed towards Eugeo who was frowning. It was a rare expression on his face and Kirito couldn’t help but feel like he was missing something. “We’ll be fine. I won’t say it’s not distracting but there are worse things than wanting to cuddle.”

Deusolbert laughed weakly and Eugeo looked ready to kick him so Kirito moved a bit closer to hopefully calm him down. Instead he tensed up even more, a shiver running through him, before he walked around Kirito to wait at the bottom of the next staircase.

“Let’s go, Kirito.”

Not getting any further comment from Deusolbert, Kirito didn’t have any choice but to agree. If Eugeo didn’t want him to know, Kirito should just accept his wishes.

They continued on, Eugeo ducking behind corners and Kirito had to admit he was being throughout. It was also unfortunately, completely useless.

“Eugeo”, Kirito started. “There’s not really… I mean, I’m pretty sure everyone can smell you, so we might as well just walk normally.”

Eugeo’s shoulders slumped.

* * *

 

Shortly afterwards they encountered Linel and Fizel, their fight against Fanatio almost ending fatally.

“Why were you this nice to her?”, Eugeo asked, not bothering with being sneaky anymore after Kirito’s admission.

“Fanatio reminded me of you.” It was a comparison Eugeo would surely not appreciate but denying the parallels would be stupid.

“She was a beta”, Eugeo answered. “It’s not like I couldn’t sympathize at all though.”

Kirito took that as a progress. Seeing the Integrity Knights as people, empathizing with their issues, it could only be beneficial for Eugeo in the future. Only treating Alice like a human being was a recipe for a disaster.

“Will you be fine when we meet Alice?” It was something Kirito had wondered about before but had yet had the guts to ask. Kirito was trying to calm Eugeo by brushing against him as often as possibly but it wasn’t really doing anything to wind him down. The stress was also getting to Kirito but at least it was keeping him awake and stopping him from melting into a puddle in front of Eugeo’s feet. At this point he wasn’t really picky anymore, anywhere would do, he just wanted to lay down with Eugeo and _cuddle._

“There is no problem; I’m good at holding back.”

How self-assured he was was kind of astonishing, considering how panicked he had been before. Kirito wasn’t… he didn’t want to doubt Eugeo but this time even his presence didn’t seem to be doing much good. There was a faint redness in Eugeo’s cheeks that could not be explained by exertion and his eyes were darker than usually. Oftentimes when he looked at Eugeo, Eugeo would already be watching him and while Eugeo tended to generally sneak glances at him quite often, at this point he was so out of it that it took him way too long to notice Kirito had caught him and look away again. If he met Alice…

“But Alice is an alpha, right?” And Eugeo had quite the crush on her if Kirito wasn’t reading all the signs wrong.

“I’ll be fine”, Eugeo insisted.

Kirito made an affirmative noise, still not feeling completely convinced. Kirito would presumably be fine, his hormones had yet to fixate on anything but Eugeo – wanting to cuddle Eugeo – but Eugeo’s body was obviously not working with them this time. He still appeared to have _some_ effect after all Eugeo couldn’t seem to stop approaching him either and sometimes even Kirito was surprised by how closely Eugeo was actually hovering behind him, since his smell was so strong that Kirito felt like he had been completely enveloped by it at this point, but it wasn’t enough. Honestly, he wasn’t sure where Eugeo’s self-confidence was coming from, Kirito had actually stumbled a few times like a drunk man just from his scent alone and he knew that his rut was comparably weak compared to Eugeo’s heats.

Not to mention that Alice’s odour was quite strong… “What does Alice smell like to you?”

Kirito himself wasn’t sure why he felt the need to know but despite knowing that it was a pretty rude question, he didn’t take it back.

He was aggravated. His skin itched feeling tight and irritated and none of his efforts had helped any in alleviating the burn. Some part of him felt like asking Eugeo for advice but alone the thought made him nervous and he’d discarded the idea fast. Eugeo might think that he was coming on to him and Kirito did absolutely not want to be thrown together in a pot with the alpha who had bothered them before.

He really wanted to be touched though.

To his confusion Eugeo didn’t answer him but instead stared at him, his gaze roving over him before landing somewhere on Kirito’s collarbone.

His hand came up to brush over Kirito’s neck, pressing down slightly and Kirito could feel a shiver run through him.

“E-Eugeo?”

“Hm?”, answered Eugeo his thumb rubbing circles into his skin.

“I—“ Were his knees supposed to feel this weak? “I asked a question.“

Eugeo blinked, red lighting up his cheeks, before he ripped his hand away and buried his face in his hands out of shame. “I’m sorry, I’m really sorry, what did you ask?”

“Er, that’s— don’t worry. It’s not a big deal; you must be woozy, too.” The place Eugeo had touched still felt hot and he tried to get rid of the feeling by shrugging his shoulder.

Eugeo mumbled something incomprehensible. “Sorry, I will try not to get distracted again.” Kirito felt the urge to ask him just what about Kirito’s face could possibly have been so interesting that he had zoned out for that long but that’d just embarrass Eugeo unnecessarily and after all Kirito could understand.

He had spent an inordinate amount of time wondering what it would feel like to lay on Eugeo’s lap – horrible probably, Eugeo was slender but he still had some muscles, not a great combination, so he didn’t know why he could just not stop thinking about it – and resisting the urge to go ahead and pet his hair already, he had just bothered because some part of him thought he’d not be able to stop. Enemies were almost a welcome reprieve; they made him feel more like himself and less like a deprived drug addict.

Kirito slapped Eugeo’s back, his hand lingering for a second longer than necessary, before he continued walking. Stopping was no good, he had to continue moving before his thoughts became even odder than they already were. “Let’s go, otherwise I’ll fall asleep while standing.”

Eugeo hurried up to match his pace, watching him curiously. “You are really that tired?”

“Well…”, he scratched his neck. “Not really tired but lazy. It’s embarrassing how much I feel like just slumping against you. I keep on getting distracted by you the whole time, even worse than usually.”

Bumping his shoulder against Kirito’s, Eugeo’s steps gained a little bit of a skip. “That’s no good. It’s normal, isn’t it? Don’t say it’s embarrassing.”

“Right.” Kirito returned his bump. “It’s not embarrassing.”

At least his admission apparently had done something for Eugeo’s mood. He still felt bad about his reactions but he would make sure not to say something this thoughtless again, no matter what he was dealing with, there was no reason to make Eugeo feel bad about himself. Worse even, considering Eugeo’s state he was doubtlessly feeling substantially worse than Kirito and Kirito just had to go ahead an open his mouth.

“What did you ask me before?”

“… ah, right…” Great. Being high was definitely doing nothing for Kirito’s social grace. Last time he’d actually told Eugeo that he had smelled horrible and Kirito was sure Eugeo had caught him glancing below his belt before. “What does Alice smell like to you?”

Eugeo’s answer was surprisingly fast. “The forest right outside Rulid Village.”

“Ah.”

Eugeo had been able to tell him right away what Alice smelled like. Well, it probably wasn’t surprising, after all he imaginably spend a lot of time thinking about it, even if they had spent two years together, it was normal not too pay too much attention to the scent of your friend. And Kirito didn’t even smell like much, so of course Eugeo had had a more difficult time describing his smell. The forest smelled nice, Kirito had been there often enough to know that but if he went there right now, it wouldn’t feel right without the perfume of roses.

Eugeo probably didn’t have such associations with Kirito’s scent. Not that Kirito cared, he hadn’t been happy about any of this in the first place and he had never smelled himself. For him the scent might as well not exist and he guessed it was the same for Eugeo.

“I need those suppressants”, he said under his breath.

“Eh?”

“Never mind.” He rubbed his collar. Did he smell stronger right now? He had to; he was in a rut after all. Unlike everyone else he mostly couldn’t tell what people were feeling from their scent but Eugeo smelled a lot like he had back then in their room when they had been cuddling. The scent was stronger though and a little bit sour most likely from the stress but it had the same sweet undertones. Eugeo’s skin was flushed lightly pink. Kirito wondered what he smelled like right now. He didn’t know and he couldn’t hide it and he never had felt as exposed as he did in this moment. “We’ve been stalling for too long.”

“Are you all right?”

“I’m fine.”

* * *

 

The fight against Alice went horrible.

As if being blasted out of the tower wasn’t bad enough, he ended up being separated from Eugeo. Convincing her not to die a senseless death took definitely longer than it should because Alice was _an idiot_ and even though she had the grace not to say overly much, he could tell that she had some sort of problem with Eugeo and him.

“What does Eugeo smell like for you?” He didn’t know how he’d feel about her naming some food. Eugeo having some chance would be nice for sure but Eugeo deserved somebody who described him as something stupidly romantic like a forest. But he’d said impressions could change, so some food was the best Kirito could hope for.

For some moments he thought she wouldn’t answer, especially because he knew it was an invasive question but then she sighed as if exasperated, her eyebrows furrowing. “Flax.”

“O-Oh?”, he tried to smile, his face threatening to morph into a grimace. Flax. Was that even a good thing? He guessed it was food at least and the reason couldn’t be more obvious but it didn’t quite feel satisfying. The best thing he could say about it was that it wasn’t something obviously negative. That was both good and unexpected. Perhaps Alice disliked Eugeo less than she had made them believe. But she had to know that her answer would indicate that, so he wondered why she had so freely given him that information…

“And, what does your _friend_ smell like for you?”

The way Alice said it almost sounded like a challenge but Kirito failed to see why. Of course he should have anticipated this question but the thought of replying to it made a lump form in his throat.

“Roses”, Kirito finally answered after some seconds and Alice nodded like something had been confirmed for her and Kirito could feel his frustration rising.

“We should hurry.”

“Eugeo will be fine”, he responded automatically, despite being the one hurrying the most. He didn’t like people underestimating Eugeo. “He’s strong.”

Alice raised an eyebrow. “That’s not what I was talking about. Not to mention that it doesn’t matter how confidently you state something when your scent is radiating distress so acutely. You two are frankly embarrassing to be around.”

“I’m radiating distress?”

“Is your nose broken? You obviously haven’t stopped worrying since you got separated. There’s iron in your scent.”

“I can’t really… I can’t tell.” He looked away, embarrassed. It felt like admitting a weakness but not only that but also a defect. Some years ago it had been nothing but a minor inconvenience but now years later, he couldn’t say the same anymore. Being ashamed that he couldn’t identify the emotions in a smell made by a game engine; how far the mighty had fallen. It was like Aincrad all over again; at some point this world had become his world.

“That explains some things. I assume your friend knows that?”

“Ye—Yes.” At least talking was relaxing Alice some even if Kirito wanted to do nothing more than change topic. With a start he became aware of the fact that Alice in all probability could tell – that was if his scent was strong enough to reach her this far down.

Alice sighed again. “Out of a sense of fairness I feel the need to inform you that your friend smells like a predator on a hunt right now.”

“… I see?”

She narrowed her eyes. “No you don’t.”

So maybe he didn’t but he honestly did not understand why she was telling _him_ that. If anything that was an annoyance for her. Not that Kirito thought Eugeo would do anything to her but he somewhat could see where she was coming from for once. Eugeo smelled sweet and inviting but he reminded Kirito of the Venus flytrap. If you get attracted by the nectar you get caught and eaten whole. He swallowed.

“If you would extrapolate…”

She harrumphed. “I’m done helping _morons_. Figure out the rest yourself.”

He was pretty sure this was revenge for calling her an idiot before.

“Fine, let’s just do this.”

All of this was useless either way. Whatever was going on with Eugeo’s scent was unrelated to him. After they had saved Alice Eugeo might decide to take suppressants again or not but regardless of what he decided on and whether his romance with Alice actually went somewhere, his only job was cheering him on and supporting his decisions. And he planned on doing exactly that.

Kirito wondered whether Alice had realized that Eugeo had a crush on her. Was this why she had told him about what she thought of Eugeo’s smell? Because it bothered her? If that was the case then he couldn’t quite blame her because Eugeo certainly smelled distracting. The heat was part of it but Kirito wasn’t so horrible when it came to reading scents that he hadn’t realized that it was not just that. Leaving his heat aside, Eugeo’s own emotions were reflected in his smell and Kirito had spent two years around him, suppressants or no suppressants, he’d be a fool not to realize when Eugeo’s mood changed even though he smelled this strongly.

Something rich and luscious would sometimes well up, a note that Kirito had described as ripe before even though that didn’t make any sense because roses couldn’t be — oh, right.

Belatedly he realized that Eugeo was wrong. It was no surprise he didn’t know because Eugeo had never even seen roses in his life before yesterday. But roses were—

Kirito almost let go of the chain connecting him to Alice, a bright blush blooming on his cheeks. That was not— it wasn’t but— did Alive _know_? Eugeo couldn’t even describe his scent and Kirito hadn’t, he meant, _it didn’t really matter_. He wasn’t attracted to Eugeo, he definitely wasn’t.

Roses were edible.

* * *

 

He had known getting separated was going to end badly but the Integrity Knight standing right in front of him had surprised even him. Eugeo’s scent had turned bitter despite still smelling like roses, reminding him of freshly brewed coffee.

“Stop that”, Eugeo said, his grip on the sword tightening. He had seemed disturbed even when he had first appeared but Kirito’s words despite his best efforts just seemed to incite more anger. “Tone it down, aren’t you ashamed?”

Kirito grit his teeth, raising himself from the crouching position he had landed in.

“What is he talking about?”, he asked, daring a quick glance at Alice.

“Your scent. Your rut is actually turning out to be in our favour.”

“How so?” He failed to see why bothering Eugeo with his smell was a good thing. It hadn’t made him remember anything either, though Kirito could hardly expect it to. _Eugeo didn’t even know what he smelled like_ and not only was his scent generally weak, he’d used suppressants for a big part of their partnership.

“Because words are easy to ignore but scents can only be manipulated to a certain extent. That’s why he knows your scent doesn’t lie. The despair flowing out of you is actually causing him to hesitate.”

Despair? “I’m not despairing. I’m just not pleased.”

Eugeo wasn’t dead and they still had a chance to save him. There was no reason to despair. He’d save him, save this world and watch him become old. If he didn’t die old and frail with a smile on his lips surrounded by his great-great-grandchildren then he wouldn’t be satisfied.

“Is that so?”

Kirito didn’t bother responding, there was no point in convincing Alice. All that mattered was persuading Eugeo. “Hey, Eugeo, you might not remember anymore but you told me that Alice over there smells like the forest outside of Rulid village, the village you grew up in. Is that still true?”

“… The forest?” Eugeo didn’t even bother glancing at her before taking a few steps forward. “Why do you keep on talking about Alice?”

“You say why…” What else was he supposed to talk about?

Eugeo’s footsteps were loud in the silence and he stopped only a short dash away, close enough that the majority of their skills would reach each other. “See, you can’t even answer.”

“What else would I be—?”

“Why are you bothering me? What do you want from me?”, Eugeo demanded. Kirito wanted a lot of things from Eugeo. He wanted buy bread at the bakery together, explore the city, train, argue and wish him a good night. Mostly he just wanted to spend his days with him doing ridiculous things. But if he had to choose one thing, then even if it didn’t involve him, just the knowledge would be enough—

“I want to make you happy.”

It sounded even lamer out loud than in his head and Kirito cringed. In the first place this wasn’t something Kirito could achieve by himself but as his best friend, wishing for his happiness and trying to help him reach it wasn’t unreasonable, was it?

Eugeo didn’t say anything for a few seconds before inclining his head. “Then what if I told you that you dying would make me happy?”

 _Then I’d die_ , was the first thought that rang through his head. He’d thought he’d left behind that kind of thinking some years ago but it was startling how fast the feelings had rushed back to him. And here he had sworn his life to Asuna. It was more body reflex than anything that stopped Kirito’s face from falling and suddenly Kirito felt like he was back to his former self, fourteen and hated, trying to put on a mask because it was the only thing he knew how to do.

Alice next to him was as stiff as a board, taking in a sharp breath.

“Right now or generally?”, Kirito replied, his voice forcibly casual. “Right now I’d be forced to point out how embarrassingly eight grade syndrome your response is, while generally I’d need to contemplate whether it was stealing your pastry or entering the room through the window again that made you angry.”

Kirito couldn’t place Eugeo’s expression but his lips moved slowly, almost carefully around his next word.

“Liar.”

* * *

 

Relief. Kirito slumped onto the ground, his quivering hands grabbing Eugeo’s tightly. His limbs felt heavy and useless, all strength having left him, but that was fine. Even lying on the ground like this, his face pressed against Eugeo’s chest – the familiar scent of roses enveloping him – was comforting and relaxing. He didn’t want to move away. It had been too close. Without Alice’s assistance— Eugeo would have died. No, if his durability had just been a bit lower, they’d have all died. He didn’t know how he’d repay Alice for this.

There was nothing he could do that could come even close to her saving Eugeo.

He breathed in deeply, trying to ignore the smell of blood that was still overpowering in the room. It was fine. Eugeo was fine.

“Kirito”, Eugeo said, his pale hand coming to rest on Kirito’s hair. “You’re shaking.”

He was? He raised his head, meeting Eugeo’s warm gaze and something in him resounded, his heart twinging painfully, a blush breaking out on his cheeks. He was such a fool. It hadn’t mattered in the first place if roses were edible or if Eugeo smelled like cheap perfume, anything would do. As long as it was Eugeo’s scent, he wanted to bask in it until he died.

He closed his eyes, swallowing down the lump that had built in his throat. Alice was sitting down not too far away from them, having respectfully averted her eyes at some point. And oh, that was right. That was the girl Eugeo liked.

If he wasn’t completely wrong then she had already guessed Kirito’s feelings towards Eugeo but that didn’t mean he wanted her to get the wrong idea of Eugeo’s. He tried to move back, his hands letting go of Eugeo’s before Eugeo pulled him back with a surprisingly strong grip.

“You’re a moron.”

“E-Excuse me?”

“Your smell is fairly weak”, Eugeo started, his thumb rubbing soothing circles into Kirito’s hand. It was startlingly distracting. “That’s why I was never sure.” He let out a deep breath. “But you’re off suppressants right now and in a rut, so…”

Eugeo trailed off but he needn’t have continued, something cold spreading through his stomach. That was right. Eugeo could tell. Had probably smelt it the whole time—

“You’re— _Kirito calm down_.” Eugeo’s grip on his fingertips was tight, massaging them lightly and Kirito hadn’t even realized how cold they had become. “I like you.”

“… what?”

Eugeo exhaled shakily, his cheeks pink, then raised Kirito’s limp hand to press a soft kiss onto Kirito’s still thawing fingers. “I like you”, he repeated.

Oh. Right.

He liked him.

“Ah–“, his voice died in his throat, warmth returning to his body, his ears burning up. “You like me.” Eugeo was biting his lip, his hands sweaty where he was gripping Kirito’s and that was right, he hadn’t even answered yet. “I, uh— have—“ A girlfriend. He had a girlfriend. His words got stuck in his throat. What was he going to do? He’d told her he couldn’t live without her and even now the thought of her disappearing from his life send a cold shudder through his spine.

They’ve been each other’s anchor for so long, letting go felt scary. But what about Eugeo?

Even if he rejected him right now, it wouldn’t change anything about his feelings. He couldn’t face Asuna and pretend nothing had happened. Kirito had thought he had been careful with his promises but with a start he realized that he’d be ultimately forced to break them. He’d promised Asuna his life. He’d promised Eugeo happiness.

“… Kirito?”, Eugeo said, his voice small.

He stared at their connected hands, noting that his own were trembling lightly and wondered when it had come to this. When had he fallen for Eugeo? His smell had never changed. If it had perhaps he’d have noticed before it was too late— roses, really, it was so obvious it was almost sad. Rejecting Eugeo was the last thing he wanted to do, not just for Eugeo but also for himself and no matter how selfish it sounded—

He could live without Asuna.

Kirito had thought he couldn’t but he _had_ these last two years and he had missed her but… it wasn’t like he had spent his whole time thinking about her. Despite his fears and misgivings, he had spent a lot of the time happy. He had made friends… had— _he had Eugeo_.

“Eugeo, we need to talk afterwards. There is something I need to tell you.”

Eugeo nodded meekly, glancing at their joined hands.

Asuna would kill him but… he’d spent two years falling in love with him, thirteen if you counted their childhood days. It didn’t feel right but today he had almost lost him and the danger was far from over. He couldn’t afford to wait until he had the chance to talk to Asuna first, not now that the war was basically at their front door and he didn’t even have a clue when he would see her again.

Squeezing Eugeo’s hands back, he cleared his throat and looked into Eugeo’s eyes.

“I like you too.”

Eugeo laughed, sounding relieved, his eyes shining. “I know.”

“That’s unfair—“, Kirito protested. “Your scent was just… wait… that means my smell was affecting you!” Kirito would later deny that his voice had become squeaky at the end.

“No, Kirito, stop.” Eugeo pressed one of his hands against his cheeks, his blush spreading.

“Then Deusolbert was—“, he croaked.

“Shut up!”, Eugeo jumped on him, well, more like flopped on him because neither really had the energy left over to tousle. “You weren’t much better!”

“Wha— of course I was!” Or at least Kirito hoped he had been. He still had no idea exactly what he smelled like.

“You weren’t! And don’t think I haven’t caught you glancing at my—“

“That’s enough”, Alice cut in. “I’m not watching you make out.”

“I wasn’t—!” “We weren’t—!”

Kirito and Eugeo exchanged quick glances before he rolled away from him until they were lying next to each other instead of on.

“This is your entire fault”, muttered grumpily, trying to poke Eugeo’s side but utterly failing because he lacked the coordination to do so. He didn’t even want to contemplate Asuna’s reaction, he had been on her bad side before but usually it was because of something small like forgetting to warn her that the monsters in the labyrinth in the second floor were half-naked. And he had no clue how to explain to Yui that her parents were breaking up. At least they wouldn’t have to go in front of court for custody rights. He had to tell Eugeo, too.

… He was so dead.

“How’s that my fault? You were the one bringing up embarrassing things.”

“No, it’s definitely your fault.” The incident with the suppressants where Eugeo had asked him to stay, his reaction when Kirito had told him that his fragrance combined with the former suppressants had smelled horrible… “You’ve been flirting with me”, he accused.

“You have no room to talk. Remember the flowers?”

“I wasn’t trying to flirt with you!”

Eugeo was a jerk.

Eugeo also smelled like somebody really loved roses and Kirito would have to take responsibility for that unfortunately.

**Author's Note:**

> This was... the result of me getting angry after an argument with somebody. If it wasn't for the lack of fanfiction for this pairing I'd have never posted it.  
> (On that note the title still makes me crack up every time I read it)  
> I completely forgot that roses were actually edible while writing this tbh, so I had to edit some stuff.  
> Don't consume anything that has been sprayed with pesticides though and that definitely excludes most store bought flowers. Pesticides are not edible.


End file.
